Serving up Delectable Places To-Go

Take a Drive!

I’m a summer person … summer clothes, summer shoes, summer fun … so I’m usually less than thrilled with the approach of fall. It gets dark earlier, the weather turns cooler, and it means winter is not far behind. But it’s all in the attitude. I can whine about it (which I will), or I can take a moment to look around.

Go for a drive to enjoy fall color in Missouri.

My family and I live in Jefferson City, but we have a farm at the very edge of Osage County, about an hour away. My husband farms part-time, and I am occasionally his No. 1 farm hand.

Last weekend, as we traveled to the farm to get some work done, I had a chance to take in the passing scenery. On the twisty, curvy road of Route 100 to Chamois, and along the river bottoms to Morrison, I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of the trees.

The gold, red, orange, and a hint of green. With the hot and bone-dry summer conditions we experienced, forecasts for spectacular fall color were not good. What a delightful surprise this drive was!

And it seems like it was there all of a sudden, one day greens and browns, the next, the colors of fall! There was some wind, too, so there were leaves blowing around, making it look even better.

Take a drive to see the beauty of the rolling hills in the Hermann area, the Augusta area, the Branson area. Check out VisitMO.com for information on events going on in those areas, and other areas of the state. It’s worth the drive!

Written for the VisitMOBistro by Suzy Schneider, a retired Division of Tourism employee who’d rather enjoy a fall drive than help her husband on the farm.

Yes, down here at Table Rock Lake it is just beautiful! Took a drive last week through Protem to Yellville, which means taking the Peel Ferry across Bull Shoals and then followed the Buffalo River and taking in the wonderful Arkansas towns of Jasper and Ponca. The colors were just amazing in both states.